This paper will be written concerning the life of the common soldier of the American
Civil War. It will give a brief description of their living conditions, what the fighting might have
been like for them, and how medical treatment would be carried out in the case of injury. The
paper will focus on the soldiers’ living conditions, specifically during the Battle of Gettysburg.
The lives of these soldiers during the Civil War were difficult and painful, but they were also
informative to future generations, as they helped to progress technology in all areas through their
experiences.
The secondary sources of this paper show a more generalized viewpoint of the Civil War,
and more specifically, the Battle of Gettysburg. By giving a general overview of the tactics of the
leaders, lifestyles of the men involved, and the conditions they would have to fight in, these
sources will serve to flesh out the viewpoints of the individual soldiers whose accounts are
discussed in this paper as well.
The soldiers that served throughout the Civil War were essentially a litmus test of the
extremes of living conditions found throughout the United States during this time period. They
showed the value of modern hygiene and sanitation, modern medical care, modern tactics, and
modern equipment. Without the progress this conflict, and these men, inspired, our own
technology would not be as advanced today.
The research for this paper began by perusing the Jerry Falwell Library for records
concerning the Battle of Gettysburg. After looking through the available journal and magazine
articles that would be considered scholarly enough to be used for the research paper, the topics
were narrowed down to the general experiences of the common soldier throughout the war.
Bibliography
“Battle of Gettysburg: The Dawn of the Modern Military Hospital System”. British Journal of
Hospital Medicine. Volume 74, no. 6. (June 2013). 354.
https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=513d8287-1d90-
4ece-8f29-d6389aa3b90f%40redis
Description of “Battle of Gettysburg”: This functions as an informed look into the medical
conditions the soldiers would have to endure throughout the war, and how those
conditions would improve.
Clarke, Tim,Jr. "Fragments of Expectorated Clothing from the Battle of Gettysburg."GMilitary
MedicineG181, no. 11 (Nov, 2016): 1402-3,
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-
journals/fragments-expectorated-clothing-battle-gettysburg/docview/1846605259/se-2.
Description of “Fragments of Expectorated Clothing”: This account describes the effects
the clothing the soldiers wore would have on the wounds they would potentially
sustain.
Futch, John, “Letter: John Futch to Martha Futch, Aug. 6, 1863,” Digital Public Library of
America, https://dp.la/item/bfce4c27c6a2055d887bed8e638af107.
Description of “Letter: John Futch”: This letter describes the wounding a death of a fellow
soldier, and the feelings of the writer towards the conflict.
Hodgman, Samuel Chase, “Samuel Hodgman letter, 1863-07-16, United States Civil War,”
Digital Public Library of America,
https://dp.la/item/badd0106bd03b6f4d593e3ca73b097b4.
Description of “Samuel Hodgman Letter”: This letter describes what battle was actually
like during the Civil War.
Holzer, Harold. “Honored Dead, Haunted Survivors: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.”
Military Images 34, no. 3 (2016): 21–35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24865733.
Description of “Honored Dead, Haunted Survivors”: This article details some of the
conditions individual soldiers would have to face in battle.
Joyce, Charles, Rick Carlile, Ronald S. Coddington, Guy DiMasi, Thomas Harris, Tom
Huntington, Britt C. Isenberg, et al. “THREE DAYS IN JULY: FACES OF UNION
AND CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS AT THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG.” Military
Images 38, no. 3 (213) (2020): 24–39. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26914972.
Description of “Three Days in July”: This shows further insights into the lives of those
involved with the Battle of Gettysburg leading up to the battle.
Kerrison, Edwin, “Letter, 7 July 1863,” Digital Public Library of America,
https://dp.la/item/b9f59e35405ae287afb2d404cb089235.
Description of “Letter, 7 July 1863”: This letter details portions of the battle while giving
descriptions of the reactions of some of the writer’s compatriots.
Orr, Timothy J. "Meade at Gettysburg: A Study in Command."GThe Journal of the Civil War
EraG12, no. 4 (12, 2022): 572-5, https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?
url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/meade-at-gettysburg-study-command/
docview/2735563055/se-2.
Description of “Meade at Gettysburg”: This article discusses some of the command
decisions by General Meade. This will be useful to show the overall theme of the
battle.
Robinson, George Franklin, “George Franklin Robinson letter describing Battle of Gettysburg,”
Digital Public Library of America,
https://dp.la/item/7633733ecaa58307ca72dd784e5f2514.
Description of “George Franklin Robinson Letter describing Battle of Gettysburg”: This
letter talks of the general morale of the troops during the battle, as well as some
basic descriptions of the troop movements.
Rollins, Nathaniel, “Diary excerpts from Gettysburg Battlefield, June 30-July 6, 1863,” Digital
Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/4e3fa9b37457abb7712c91208f891430.
Description of “Diary Excerpts from Gettysburg Battlefield”: This letter showcases a
somewhat unique viewpoint of a prisoner of war during the Civil War, who was
imprisoned in a Confederate POW camp.
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